I winced as Mom pulled my hair tightly back. My hair was short but she still managed to put it up somehow- lots of bobby pins and hairspray. Once that was complete, she moved onto my makeup. It honestly felt like that scene from Mulan where she's getting all made up to see the matchmaker. The last time I remember being this fancy was for my high school graduation six years ago. She dressed me up to look like a living doll, which I guess is how Mr. Agreste saw me anyways. I looked much older…. And unhappy with myself.

Mom opened my bedroom door and the two of us walked out together. We exited my wing in the back to the front of the house. Adrien was already there at the bottom of the main staircase. He was wearing a suit and looking sharp as ever; he seemed a lot more comfortable in this sort of attire than me. The moment we started descending down the stairs, he spun around- he had been fixing his cuffs- to greet us. From the moment he saw me his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Wow, Marinette! You look beautiful!" My fiancé stepped over to meet us at the bottom stairstep. "Thank you," I said, not forcing myself to smile. Mom grinned though; as far as she was concerned things were going brilliant. Heh, guess she didn't see the paper today. "You look dashing too, Adrien," she replied on my behalf. Adrien gave her a polite little bow. "Thank you, Sabine. But no one's going to pay any attention to me with you lovely ladies in the room," I think this was Adrien's attempt at a compliment. Ah well, at least he's trying. Mom giggled, waving her hand at him playfully. "Oh, stop."

Still grinning with tenderness, Adrien held out his arm toward me. "Shall we?" I hesitated to touch him, but Mom gave me a pinch on the back. "Aren't you going to go in with Adrien?" That was code for "take Adrien's arm NOW". Signing inwardly, I did as was expected of me and wrapped my arm around his. Just like Cat Noir always did, Adrien draped his hand securely over mine, pushing it into him. I did my best not to blush, looking everywhere but his face. With our arms linked, Adrien led me and my mom into the dining room, which wasn't as crowded as I was anticipating.

There were twenty- maybe eighteen- people already inside. "Extended family," Adrien whispered into my ear as we made our way in. I'm not surprised they're related. They were all well-dressed, all good-looking, and all giving off an insanely cold vibe. Well, all except for my dad; you could hear him from anywhere in the room, he was talking and laughing that loudly. Everyone else, well… I knew I was entering a snake pit without being told so. This was going to be a chilly evening.

I guess social protocol dictated that we first see the most important- and powerful- person in the room, which just so happened to be Mr. Agreste. He had a champagne glass in his hand and was talking to two other smartly dressed older men, none of them smiling or acting very casual. Adrien cautiously approached his father, anxiously holding onto my hand the entire time. He waited until Mr. Agreste finished talking to start speaking.

"Good evening, Father." Mr. Agreste's head turned, his free arm folding up behind his back. He didn't look displeased, so it were; more so indifferent at our arrival than anything. "Ah, Adrien; there you are. You remember my son, gentlemen?" "Of course we do! How could we forget our own nephew?" One of the men exclaimed. Nephew?! Mr. Agreste talks to his own brothers so formally? Though maybe they were his mother's brothers. Adrien flashed them a familial smile, nodding at each of them. "Hello Uncle Julien; Uncle Elroy." "Hello there, Adrien. Good to see you again, nephew." "Keeping up with your studies in university, I hope," the one named Julien questioned. "Yes, sir," Adrien nodded. "Good man," Elroy patted him lightly on the shoulder, as if touching was a foreign concept to them.

That's when all attention was directed onto me. It was frazzling, having all sets of male eyes suddenly cast upon me. While Adrien's gaze was kind as ever, Mr. Agreste's was not; the other two men looked at me with curiosity more than anything. "And this is Miss Dupain-Cheng, Tom and Sabine's girl. Her maternal grandfather and uncle are the ones I've been engaged in business with for over three years now," that's how he chooses to introduce me to my future uncles-in-law? Alright then. Thankfully they seemed a little warmer toward me than their brother. "It's very nice to finally meet you, young lady," Julien shook my hand. "We've heard a great many things about you, Miss Dupain-Cheng," Elroy was next to shake my hand. In an attempt to be polite, I grinned back their way. "Nice to meet you too, sir. I'm looking forward to getting to know both of you better." Seemingly charmed by this, the men's faces softened. They gave each other an approving glance. Mr. Agreste's mannerisms, on the other hand…..

Of course he scowled at his son. "Aren't you going to introduce your new fiancée to the rest of the family, Adrien?" This wasn't a question; it was an order. Adrien, obviously, knew this. His back straightened up in perfect submission. "Yes, Father. Come, Marinette," I found myself being guided to the other side of the room, far away from that man. The uncles seemed nice enough but Mr. Agreste just soured the mood of any party. Unfortunately for me, the rest of Adrien's family were not so amiable.

None of them were particularly charming, and I think they all knew which role in the "family" I was going to play before I knew what it was. This slowly dawned on me the more people we talked to. It became evidently clear when we met with one of Adrien's aunts and uncles- a married couple. "Oh, she's just lovely, Adrien. Isn't she exquisite, darling?" His Aunt Claudine asked her husband, who nodded in immediate concurrence. "Mmmmm, simply enchanting. Welcome to the family, Miss Dupain-Cheng," Uncle Markus told me. I blushed a tad shy. They were all heaping ample praise onto me, but it all felt rather shallow, if that makes sense. Still, I did my best to keep up appearances- that's what they did, after all. "Thank you, sir."

Aunt Claudine fanned herself with an open dark blue, gem-encrusted fan she was carrying around. "Gabriel tells me that you're a PhD candidate?" "Yes, madame. I uh, I'm currently studying the history of Parisian fashion designs; Versailles's, to be specific." "Oh! Well I'm sure that will be a wonderful hobby for a housewife," he responded so aptly, it honestly felt like someone punched me in the gut. Only then did my grin which had been plastered on thus far falter as I showed the slightest hint of raw emotion. "I-I beg your pardon?" Was all my suddenly desert-dry mouth could spit out. She continued fanning herself like she'd done nothing wrong. "Well, you don't expect to work after you're married, do you? Your principal occupation will be as a wife and mother, as it should be." "Quite right, dear," her husband praised.

I must have looked utterly horrified as Adrien didn't hesitate to swoop in for my rescue. "I've already told Father that I don't mind my wife working outside of the house, Aunt Claudine. Marinette's worked hard for her PhD and it's her dream to become a fashion designer." I blinked at Adrien in belief at this. I mean, he's right, but how in the world did he know that?! Mr. Agreste must have included that in the dossier he had written up on me. His aunt just waved her hand dismissively at us, like we were foolish children or something. "Tisk, Adrien; you're simply too young to understand. Real Parisian men don't want their wives working. I never worked a day in my life, and that's just the way you like it, isn't that right darling?" "Yes, my dear," Uncle Markus nodded again. I felt like I was going to be sick. No one ever told me that I'd be chained to the house once we were married. No! I had a dream- the same dream I've had since I was a child. Be in an arranged marriage? Fine, if I must. But be left at home, barefoot and pregnant for the rest of my life? I never signed on for that!

Sensing my increasing distress, Adrien put his hand over top of mine again and began to lead me away from the couple. "Don't worry. I have no problem with you working. You can get whatever job you want once we're married," he whispered to me again once we were out of earshot. I gave him a pleading expression, my eyes almost moist with horror. "Really? Do you promise?" His hand gave mine a squeeze. "Absolutely. I'm not going to stand in the way of your dreams. I want to help you achieve them," he smiled. "Thanks, Adrien," I did feel a bit better hearing this. Still, I wasn't in the mood to deal with the rest of his family. We sort of lingered about in the middle of the room for a minute, not really doing or saying anything. A familiar and very-much welcomed face soon found us moments later.

Daddy came over, looking all fancy in his brand-new suit and tie. He gave me and Adrien a hug as soon as he reached us. "Oh, Marinette; is that you? You look marvellous, sweetheart!" "Thank you, Daddy," I smiled for real this time. He next gave Adrien a pat on the back. "And you! Looking good there, Adrien! You two make the cutest couple." "Don't they though?" Mom literally appeared out of nowhere, making us both jump a little- though not in a bad way. She went up to stand beside Daddy so they could admire us together. "How have you been getting on with the Agreste family?" I ventured to inquire. "Oh, they're wonderful!" Mom exclaimed. "A bit of a quiet bunch, but that's why you have us here to liven things up!" Daddy added with great big grin. "I especially like your Aunt Claudine," Mom finished by telling Adrien. He and I said nothing, simply looking at each other.

Daddy checked his watch. "Better go take your seats at the table. Dinner will be ready soon." "Yes! Yes! Let's go find you two the seats of honour where everyone can see you," Mom led me and Adrien over to the enormous dining table. She picked us seats right in the middle at the centre of everything. Adrien pulled out my chair for me; something which caught my attention as it's something which Cat Noir would do. The longer I spent with Adrien, the more similarities I found between the two men.

I think that's why he was growing on me so quickly.

Once seated, Adrien pushed my chair in and took his seat beside me. The rest of the family clambered around the table, practically ignoring both of us by this point. I guess the formal introductions were over and there was no reason for them to talk to us anymore. Fine by me! I didn't want another debacle like with Aunt Claudine before. I think it's more than crystal-clear that we're going to have clashes in the future, but that's later. For now, I just wanted to eat and get dinner over with.

Daddy made a big announcement that dinner was served, and then a series of dishes were brought out by servants from the kitchen. They were placed onto the table and the lids covering them were removed. Yet no one touched a morsal, despite having all this delicious food in front of us. Everyone waited for Mr. Agreste to take the first scoop, only daring to touch their cutlery once he'd done so. Oh; oh, I see. So that's how it is, I internally rolled my eyes. This is like eating with the firkin Queen of England. Everything was dictated by one man, and silently so. Still, he began to fill his plate and the rest of us did the same.

There was small talk but nothing too grand. There certainly wasn't a group discussion going on. Mr. Agreste talked to no one while he ate, slipping out halfway through the meal unnoticed. The family whispered to each other discreetly, except for Mom and Daddy, who were acting like they've never heard the word "discreet". Adrien and I spoke amongst ourselves, engaging in casual, light-hearted conversation. To be honest it was a breath of fresh air after that stifling environment we'd just been submerged in. The food was really good too, which was to be expected from my father cooking. Things were alright for a little while- I say "a little while".

As if fate had it in for me, the whole dinner was interrupted by Nathalie entering the dining hall and turning on the tv which was hidden in the wall. Everyone stopped eating and talking to look at the screen. My eyes grew and my heart sank at the news of yet another akumatized person terrorizing Paris. The news anchor was giving their usual warning whenever such an event occurred. "Red alert! There is an akumatized man wreaking havoc in Paris's city centre! This is a message for everyone to stay inside! Ladybug and Cat Noir should be arriving at the scene shortly!"

"Oh no….." I think I actually uttered this out loud. In the blink of an eye both Adrien and I leapt up from our chairs. "May I be excused?!" We cried at the same time. It didn't hit me that he was leaving too until we were out in the hall and running in opposite directions. We paused to look back at the other confused.

"Why are you leaving, Marinette?" Adrien asked me first before I had the chance. My spine arched a little as I wracked my brain to come up with a lie that would make legitimate sense. "O-Oh! I'm uh…. I-I'm going to my room! I-I've just had enough for today; it's been such a long day and I'm feeling really overwhelmed. I just want to go to bed now." After a second of thinking, he nodded as if this he understood this perfectly. I didn't know what to think when he gave me a sincere look.

"That makes sense. Don't worry, Marinette; you go lay down. I'll explain everything to everybody later," he was about to take off in his direction before I stopped him. "Wait. Where are you going?" His own back flinched at my question. "Who, me? I've um…. I've got to go check on something, uh downstairs! The stock numbers always fluctuate like crazy whenever someone gets akumatized. Father likes me to keep an eye on the numbers, being a PhD of finance and all," he explained while rubbing the back of his neck with his hand awkwardly. Made sense to me; that seems like something Mr. Agreste would care about, cause of course he cares about money. "I see…." My eyes lowered slightly.

Watching me a minute, Adrien surprised me a little when he began walking back over to me. My head shot up startled as he grabbed hold of my shoulders with both hands, holding me there close to him. He made sure to look me straight in the eye when he spoke next.

"I want you to go to your room and lock the door; don't open it for anyone until I get back. I'll come to check on you as soon as I'm done," he talked with such sincerity, it actually made my jaw drop open. Adrien… He's worried about me! He's genuinely concerned for me. I could feel my lips sputter in astonishment. "B-But….." I began but my mind couldn't think of way to continue. His hands gripped me harder- but not in a painful sort of way- and he grinned ever so comfortingly at me. "Please don't worry. Cat Noir will show up if anything bad happens. He'll protect you in my absence."

Cat Noir! My eyes enlarged to the size of dinner plates. How did he….? I mean, of course I know that, but I thought for sure that I was the ONLY one who did. My hand rose up to my pounding chest. "H-How do you know that?" Adrien's eyes also widened at this question- more like demand- and he blinked to himself a couple of times. "Oh! I've uh… s-seen him around here a lot in the past. Cat Noir's known for being seen in this part of the city. I'm sure it won't take him long to get here if you… er, the situation calls for it." Well, I suppose that makes sense. Cat Noir does spend a lot of time in the city centre, though I'm a little surprised that Adrien knows that. Then again, he has lived here his entire life and Cat Noir has transformed for ten years now. I guess you would pick up on a pattern if you're a local.

Seeing my face relax somewhat, Adrien's soft grin came back. His eyes lowered upon me. "I'll be back as soon as I can." "O-Oh, no! No! That's fine! Please don't feel like you need to hurry. I'm just gonna go to bed anyway." "Ok. Have a good sleep. I'll see you in a bit," finally releasing my shoulders, Adrien took off the down the hallway with one last look at me. I waited until he was gone before taking off myself. Once I found a room with an open door, I rushed inside. Tikki had already flew out of my dress and into the air in front of me. I looked at her with large eyes. "Looks like we'll have to do this quick! Who knows when Adrien will be back." "Then we better get going." "You're right. Tikki! Spots on!"

And you know the very next thing which happened.